Category Archives: The Gods of Samhain

“Great Goddess, Mistress of Cats,Lady of love, beautiful Vana-Goddess,Fulfill my greatest needs, O glorious one. Teach me the magic I need.Give me a glimpse of your deep wisdom.Teach me in dreams. Enrich my life. O Lady, you are Golden-Tears of AsgardLady of love, beautiful Vana-Goddess,You are the Shape-shifter, the Sayer,The Independent One.Give me the strength and magic I need.”– Prayers to Freyja.

Samhain is a time of death and the Underworld. Winter looms on the horizon and the fields are emptied from the harvest. The earth falls into a cold deep sleep. Here are some of the deities that represent death and the dying of the earth. The Crone comes into her power at Samhain. The God sacrifices himself so the harvest is plentiful.

Demeter (Greek) Persephone was kidnapped by Hades and taken to the Underworld. She spent six months there during the cold season and spent six months with her mother, Demeter. When Persephone was kidnapped, Demeter refused to allow the fields to flourish or the grains to grow. Demeter came to be associated with the dying of the fields, until her daughter’s return.

Freya (Norse) Freya is associated with fertility and childbirth but she is also a war goddess. The men who died in battle join her in the hall Folkvangr. Other fallen soldiers joined odin in Valhalla.

Hecate (Greek) Hecate is associated with the moon, cronehood, and the underworld. She is sometimes referred to as the Goddess of the Witches. Hecate is associated with ghosts and the spirit world. Hecate is considered to be a gatekeeper between graveyards and the mortal world.

Hel (Norse) This goddess rules the underworld in Norse mythology. Her great hall is called Eljuonir, and is where mortals go not in death, but in sickness and natural causes.

Morrigan (Celtic) Morrighan is the warrior goddess most associated with death. She is known as the washer at the ford, and she determines which warriors survive the battles. She is often depicted as a warrior goddess accompanied by a trio of ravens. Ravens are a symbol of death. Other goddesses associated with Samhain are Lilith, Frida, Pamona, and Psyche.

Osiris (Egyptian) Osiris is murdered by his brother Set before being resurrected by his lover, Isis. The death of Osiris is associated with grain being threshed during the harvest season. Other gods of Samhain are Pluto, Woden, Anubis, Arawn, and Kronos.